Buc-ee's Fog and Curling

Well the last time I left you a note, I was deeply concerned about the recent chapstick episode endured on our way back to the beach.  Since this was so heavy on my mind, I forgot to tell about our last stop on the trip back.

Somewhere between Huntsville and Conroe, we decided we needed to get some gas before continuing any further.  We pulled into a small burg, named Madisonville, for no particular reason other than to make a quick stop for the gasoline.  Well part of the convenience store where we stopped has a Subway sandwich shop.  Since we are already stopped and there are a couple of hours driving left, we decide to refuel ourselves as well.  This further leads to taking a restroom break before hitting the road once again.

Well, as everyone knows, the guys have no problem with the restroom situation at any stop.  This is not the case with the girls.  There are the issues of cleanliness, privacy and clientele appearance that must be satisfied before approving the use of a place's facilities.  This poor convenience store failed on all three counts if not more.  So we struck out in search of suitable facilities.  We see a Buc-ee's on the other side of the interstate and head that direction.

Now for the uninitiated, Buc-ee's is a regional convenience store found in South Texas primarily.  It's logo (pictured below) looks like a beaver with buckteeth.  I have always wanted to stop at one to peruse the establishment because they look so interesting from afar.  Here was one that we could not believe our eyes when we topped the bridge and looked into the parking lot and gas pumps.  There must have been in excess of 100 cars and trucks.  Figuring this many people cannot be wrong, we forge onward to check out their facilities.

Buc-ee's Logo used on Signs at their locations

We guys waited in a parking space close to an entrance having already taken care of business whilst the ladies ventured into the melee inside the store.  While sitting there we conjectured on why so many folks had stopped at the store.  Casually watching the comings and goings, I noticed the large digital sign below the Buc-ee's sign.  It would flash various advertising messages to entice those travelers on the road to stop in before continuing their journey.  The one piece of information that really gave me a hoo-hah was the statement: "Two Reasons to Stop at Buc-ee's - - #1 and #2".  (Think about it for a minute - this is the exact reason we stopped)  And as if to confirm the message on the sign, the ladies came back raving about this place having the best bathrooms anywhere we have been before.  Very large (around 20 stalls), extremely clean and spacious inside.  Obviously, not many five-star hotels could compete with what I was hearing.  So the sign is exactly right, 2 reasons to stop!

Upon returning to the RV park on the beach, we have settled comfortably into somewhat of a routine.  A routine that involves walking along the beach.  There is a jetty some distance from us that leads into the Intracoastal Waterway that Bibi and I have set as our goal to walk to and from before we leave this location. David says if he walks down to that, someone will have to come pick him up in the car to carry him back. This may end up being the case for us as well.  We have walked so much that sometimes a planned second walk for the day does not happen due to tiredness and soreness.

The last few days have been marvelous temperature-wise.  An interesting phenomenon is occurring regularly. Because the water temperature is cooler than the ambient air temperature, we have London style fog all the time.  Most of the time the visibility is a half-mile or lower.  This morning, I got up and could not see the fence across the driveway in front of the RV.  This distance is approximately 50 -60 yards.  It makes for an interesting walk by the ocean when you cannot see normal distances.  There is an almost surreal feeling to the environment.  It also messes up your sense of distance since you do not have far off landmarks to mark how far you have gone, you can easily go too far.  Remember, wherever you start from and end up, you have to traverse this distance again to get back to your starting point.

Another interesting phenomenon is happening back at the RVs too.  Since the Winter Olympics are taking place, we naturally are interested in the different sporting activities.  But one 'sport' has evidently captured our collective East Texas imaginations.  It seems daily whenever we get together, the conversation turns to this particular sport and a discussion of the fine intricacies involved ensues.  Now mind you, none of the four adults in this conversation has ever participated in the sport (East Texas is not a hotspot for this sport) let alone even have read the rules associated with the sport.

Which sport you ask, why 'curling' of course.  Curling seems to be the epitome of being bored for so long during winter time, you have to come up with something to do to pass the long harsh winter days since you cannot work outside.  It is some kind of strange combination of bowling on ice and washer competition or horseshoes combined.  Supposedly there is quite some skill involved in putting the 'rock' exactly where you want it to be when it comes to rest.  We are not sure about what is being yelled during the competition because as you know, they participants are not speaking 'East Texas' but using their native tongues from around the globe.  So the purpose of and the information imparted by all the yelling has thus far eluded us as we gaze intently on the televised portions of this sport.

We have discussed everything from the handle on the rock, how the rock is made, what is the purpose of the brooms, why one person tries to hit another's rock versus the person that tries to go around the rocks and everything in between.  Our discussions get quite lively sometimes in discussing these finer details, which I must say is a lot livelier than the actual competition.  Except for those folks with the brooms which are quite lively, everyone else is standing around.  We did find out there are about 900 curling clubs in the U.S. with about 16,000 folks participating in the sport in this country.  Who would have guessed that?

Why this particular activity captures our interest and holds it for such lengthy discussions is beyond each of us.  We cannot explain it, nor escape it.  Every single time a 'curling' event is on, we stop what we are doing immediately and focus all of our attention to every single action and word uttered during the televised portion of the event.  Of course, each time one of us picks up on new information, we discuss it to the 'nth' degree. You would think we are aficionados or something.  Maybe it has to do with our age.  We have noticed a lot of 'shuffleboard' courts at RV parks.  Methinks, curling is just a winter version of this popular fair weather pastime that is played primarily by folks around our ages.  Just saying......

Until next time, may all your curling be done on ice!

The week that was......

It all started the week before innocently enough.  Matt, my son-in-law had mentioned the 97 Adventurer is for sale to a co-worker that is looking to buy a motorhome before retirement.  Well while in Surfside Beach, we get a text from Matt and Rikki wanting to know if we would accept a lower price for the 97.  I respond back with 'is this a firm offer or a fishing expedition?'.  The answer: it is firm.  Now mind you, the prospective buyer has not even seen the rig or asked for any pictures.  Well we countered with a higher price that is lower than the original asking price and it was immediately accepted.

Now begins the back and forth directly with the buyer to make final arrangements to swap money for the title and the vehicle.  It is determined we should be able to make a Friday work for both parties so we set our sights on that target.  Now we have to get back home to get the rig to the shop to have a step motor replaced, buy a replacement microwave to install and clean it out completely for delivery.  We announce to our co-travelers of the recent developments and invite them to make the trip back with us.  When we left on our trip, they had sold their piano and the home fridge had quit working so there was incentive to take care of these outstanding items.

They decided to go with us and with the weather and traffic, the decision was made to leave on a Tuesday afternoon.  This is the Tuesday before the designated Friday for making the swap with our buyer.  If we do not make this deadline, the next earliest time to meet will be Tuesday following due to a bank holiday.  All of this cutting into our play time down south at the beach.  So the pressure is on to git 'r dun.  The trip back is uneventful until we get to the Lufkin area and we run into the rain/freezing rain predicted this day.  In Nacogdoches we pass a truck that has lost its load of pipe on the road, partially blocking traffic.  Just outside of Nac, we see an accident where several vehicles have left the road and are in the ditch due to the rain/freezing rain.  We see plenty of ice building on the trees and power lines.

When we finally make it home, we stop and grab a bite to eat.  This is because there are no groceries at either couple's house and eating is mandatory before calling it a night.  After we eat, the road and weather conditions have deteriorated further, making it a slower go to make it safely home.  Thanks to God's watch care, we are all safe and sound but tired as we can be with a lot more to do this week.

Wednesday starts with delivery of rig to repair shop and getting a call later that the replacement part had to be ordered and will be shipped in the next day (Thursday).  So a call to the banker, the buyer and our co-travelers to coordinate the trip to DFW on Friday ensues.  Of course this delicate balance of timing is totally dependent on getting the frig fixed, piano delivered, steps repaired, microwave replaced, rig cleaned out and banker making its final inspection before delivery.  There is nothing anybody can do to speed up, change or affect these variables except live through them and be flexible to make last minute changes.

The good news is that everything and everybody worked well together and we made it to the DFW area on Friday to complete the transaction.  A special shout-out to my father-in-law and mother-in-law for making it happen.  We delivered the rig and made our escape from the DFW traffic during rush hour to make our way back to Surfside Beach just in time for improved temperatures and sunny skies.  Now comes the kicker to this entire episode.

I have already apologized to my valentine for the hectic valentine week, lack of card and flowers and no valentine dinner missed because of trying to put all these pieces together to meet this deadline.  I thought she was okay with it and fine that we agreed on a rain check, but obviously I missed some sign that this is not the case.  For on our way back my bride asked me for some chapstick.  Unfortunately, the tube is in my pocket, I am driving and cannot retrieve it for her.  Since I have already greased up, I offer her a kiss that will allow her to share some of my chapstick.  To my surprise, she REFUSED to kiss me on Valentines day to get some chapstick.  Now to hear her tell it, I was driving and it was not safe.  This does not hold water for me because in the past I have received kisses while driving;  I therefore, know there is something else at play here.  Needless to say, I am still in shock at this recent turn of events.

Good news is the 97 Adventurer is sold and gone but the bad news is I am not feeling the love for such a sacrifice of time and effort, if you know what I mean.  I will let you all draw your own conclusion from this tale and offer suggestions on how to extricate myself from such a quandary.

So this is how the week that was....., ended.  Until next time, see you down the road.

There is no such thing as a bad day in a RV

After settling in we discover there is a RV show in Houston this week and have decided to go take a look at the new models and explore the possibilities.  Besides, our good friends are seriously considering a purchase and need all the comparison information they can obtain before finalizing such a major purchase.  Sounded like a good rationalization to me and we are off to visit the show.

So we hit the show at Reliant Park and thank goodness it is all inside because outside is a dreary, cold, misty, nasty day.  Inside is warm and inviting.  Upon entering we notice there is a main aisle with some vendors and we make our first foray down this aisle collecting many pieces of literature.  Approximately 42.4 pounds of paper was collected.  After we returned to our RV, Bibi sat down with the 'loot' and culled out 97.3% of the stuff she classified as non-essential items.  Unbelievable!

Our next stop was to review the layout of the show and plan our attack.  Since Camping World had a huge presence and we knew from past experience they carry Winnebago, we decide to begin with their units. Upon arriving in their area, we see quite a few Itasca models but no Winnebago models.  We press on looking but are momentarily distracted by a 'Palazzo' that is intriguing.  Upon entering, we encounter a Factory Rep ready to answer any question we have about the unit.  I casually ask him who the manufacturer of the unit is to which he replies Thor.  Thinking I have obtained the information desired I proceed to look over the unit and pause by the cab area to rest while the rest of our party peruses the coach further.

Unbeknownst to me, the Factory Rep has signaled a Camping World salesperson and then he snuck up behind me trying to get me to sit in the driver's chair to get a 'feel' for the cockpit.  If you have been to enough of these shows, you recognize this as a ploy to get you 'excited' about the unit.  I politely refuse explaining, I am just surveying the rig, trying to take it all in.  By this time the salesperson, a very nice older lady from Florida that works for Camping World nationwide sales, has arrived to take an interest in my activities.

Bibi and Sophie have already departed the coach, obviously they saw what was happening and made a hasty exit, leaving me and David at the mercy of the dynamic duo.  So me being the nice person I am, asked another question and promptly received a reply.  Then out came the brochure for the unit and further explanations and information followed by the question, when do you want to drive this unit out of here?

Now mind you, we have just purchased a newer Adventurer and are not in the market for another coach, but I did like this floor plan and knew David needed more comparison information so I pressed onward by making a casual statement something to the effect, 'oh, maybe on Saturday.'  Well, you would have thought I had waved a huge juicy steak in front of a starving dog, the foam started appearing on the salesperson's mouth along with her cohort, the Factory Rep and the race was on.  Now during all this time, David is hanging back listening (and not saying anything which is quite smart with this pair) and gathering information as the questions and answers are flying back and forth with some regularity and speed by now.

Back to Bibi and Sophie, they have managed to view about 15 more coaches during the process of me letting the sales person down easy.  As we are making our escape from the non-pressure sales presentation, I  cannot help but notice the pair of spouses viewing from afar (a long way off) the goings on at the Palazzo. It is at this time I let the salesperson in on the secret that I am not the buyer, but David is the real prospect. Oh my, you would have thought I had just dumped 20 gallons of cold water on her head.  She immediately quit writing down my contact information and started swiveling her head to ask where he went.  I nonchalantly said, 'Oh he is around here somewhere."  She said, well let's find him, I at least want to introduce myself to him.  Okay, I said, relieved to be out from underneath the microscope and out of the line of fire.

When we round the Palazzo, David is nowhere in sight.  At this time I take my leave of the salesperson with her card, promising to give it to David once I locate him.  I find David a few coaches down and deliver the card.  As we round the corner, whom do we bump into?  You guessed it, the salesperson.  I pointed to David and said, "here he is!" then made a quick little sidestep to avoid being run over.  Leaving David in good hands I set out to find Sophie and Bibi.

Well to make a long story, a little longer, Sophie ended up getting sucked into the sales vortex David was caught in.  After 30 minutes or so, they extricated themselves and made their way towards us standing at the edge of the Camping World area.  We moved away quickly, constantly checking over our shoulders to make sure our escape was complete and successful.

We finally made it to some Winnebago models that were at the show and carried by a competing dealer. After perusing these, avoiding all signs of any salespersons, we managed to make the rounds and had quite an enjoyable day at the show followed by a nice mid-afternoon lunch on the way back to the RV park at the beach.  Thoroughly enjoyed regaling each other with tales of the sales adventure.  Note to all sales people, it would be wise to determine early on who the real buyer is in a group.  By the time this poor person had determined I was not the buyer, all bridges had been burned by ignoring my companion, David the real buyer.  Besides, Sophie did not approve of the coach anyway, so all bets were off.

Until next time, we are still adventuring....

Here we are again

Well we managed to find our way a little further south in an effort to escape colder temps.  We are at Surfside Beach with our traveling friends, David and Sophie.  Our trip here was somewhat uneventful, except for the following:

In an attempt to pass time by eating lunch before traversing Houston traffic we wanted to find a place to pull over and have a sandwich or buy lunch.  Never before in the history of man has this been more difficult than this trip.  After a couple of different stops to try out large parking areas (usually a WalMart) and not being successful to find an area large enough to accommodate one rig pulling a vehicle, much less 2 rigs at the same location, we moved on down the road to a Cracker Barrel only to discover the only one in North America without a designated RV parking area.  In fact, the closest parking was approximately 1/4 mile away so we decided to 'hoof it' to the restaurant.  Now in an effort to park the rigs around the previously mentioned WalMarts we had to do quite a bit of maneuvering to extricate ourselves from some pretty tight spots.  There were a number of U-turns, tight turns and crossing heavy traffic to go the desired direction.  All of these done in our 45 foot long times 2 rig caravan in very heavy traffic.  We could not decide what was up with WalMart as the parking lots of the two attempted parking areas were completely loaded with customers' cars.  Oh well, it was fun while it lasted, we think?

The next hiccup occurred on the freeway just south of downtown Houston.  I will spare the 'gory' details but there was a recently killed dog in the roadway that did not pass between my wheels cleanly and then was rolled over in front of David who thought he had possibly managed to miss it but due to the action of my jacks underneath the rig moved the carcass directly into his path.  Both of us have a small cleaning job on our towed vehicles before using them.  We can only hope the rain today washes away most of the heavy duty mess.

Regardless of those things, we are here and settled in for the night and looking forward to new adventures that await us.

We hope everything works....

Hello from the road.  Bibi and I have taken the replacement Adventurer out for a shake down cruise.  As reported in the last post, we were in the process of making it our own by moving everything from the former Adventurer to the newer one.  We are visiting some of the most awesome athletes in the world (our grandchildren that are in school) that includes a budding gymnast and some basketball players extraordinaire.

It was evident from the biggest grin ever seen that was maintained throughout the workout, Kenzie thoroughly enjoys the cartwheels, jumps, etc. during her one hour workout we witnessed this week.  We have seen one grandson play (and win) a basketball game.  We will witness three more games the other two are participating in this week too.

All this as we experience some of the coldest temps encountered this year has made the trip memorable.  I woke up this AM around six with the temp at 18 degrees.  We left water running to keep from freezing. Evidently some in the RV park around us did not do so and with the frozen water all over the ground have been busy all day getting their repairs made.

So against that backdrop, Bibi and I are making lists, contemplating ideas, making trips to Target, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, etc. to get more ideas and search for solutions to making the rig a perfect place to live, work and play.  So far, so good.  We have managed two naps to let all the ideas congeal and coalesce as we contemplate the many, many choices we have to consider.

Until next time, we will see you down the road.

Now What?

Well it has been awhile since we last posted or took a trip.  Thought I would post a quick blurb about our activities since the last trip.  At the end of the trip, Bibi's mom had a series of issues that led to an extended hospital stay.  She is now out and doing better.

I scheduled cataract surgery on my right eye in December and now am waiting for the glasses that will allow my eyes to work together again.  I agreed to teach our Sunday School class during December (note to self - do not schedule eye surgery when you need to read a lot and refer to notes while teaching) which was interesting when I had a hard time focusing clearly.

Both Bibi and I endured our annual physical exams and other yearly checkups such as dental, eyes, skin, etc. in hopes the spring, summer and fall months will be clear of doctor visits.

Prior to our last trip, Bibi and I had discussed the possibility of replacing our 1997 Adventurer in the future if we are able to take more extended trips.  So while we were gone we visited many RV dealers, the Winnebago factory and toured rigs on display at the Atlanta rally to crystallize our ideas about what features we wanted, needed or just plain did not see the need for in a replacement RV.

Amazingly, we had concluded there were just a few features that would be 'nice' to have in addition to what our 1997 Adventurer already supplied us.  So in short, we did not see a lot to get excited about except for more room in the bedroom and bathroom.  The basic floor plan we have in the 1997 model was just fine for us.

With that said, we decided that a newer model Adventurer would be our 'rig of choice' since it met our requirements including the added space we desired.  Our plan was to purchase at some point in the future, not immediately but be prepared for a very good deal.  Prior to attending the rally in Atlanta and while parked in Chattanooga, we decided it would be good to know what kind of pricing was available for used or slightly used RVs.  Our logic was to be able to recognize a 'deal' on a brand new rig at the rally.  They often bring new models to such venues to try and clear them from their inventory at really good pricing.

To our surprise, we found a RV on Craigslist not 80 miles from our home.  So I called the seller to learn more about it.  He was gracious to send many more pictures and answer a multitude of questions.  Well you guessed it before I got there, we ended up making a long distance deal subject to final visual inspection when we returned from our Atlanta destination.

We made our trip and finalized all the details and picked up the rig soon after our return.  In getting to know the seller, we find out there is a connection between us as I hired a very good long-time friend of his to work in the firm where I worked right before retiring.  The rig being available only 80 miles from home base and then the connection tells me there is much more than circumstances and happenstance involved with this situation.

We absolutely love the new rig (even though we have not got to use it on the road yet) and are in the process of making it ours by moving our stuff into it from the other rig.  We will then get the 1997 model ready for sell and list it to sell to someone that we hope gets as much enjoyment from it as we have in the past 14 years.

We are planning a trip during February, if we can get everything to fall in place, with two more couples (both Adventurer owners) to a warmer part of the country.  We have decided below freezing temps are not for us so we are looking for moderate temps for the month of February into March.

We will post again as time passes and about the trip soon.

Final Yellowstone to Atlanta Posting

There was not a final email sent to wrap up the Yellowstone to Atlanta trip.  However, I will give a report of the Rally and the final stages of the trip in this final blog post for that trip.

After making our way to Atlanta (a 2 hour trip - sounds like Gilligan's Island doesn't it?), we discovered David's rig is still struggling with engine overheating issues.  Once we get parked at the Rally, we decide to register and review the materials to finalize our agendas.  We will also contact Camping World to have them take a look at David's engine again.

The Rally has a ton of new coaches to look at not to mention the vendors' booths. There are lots of informational and educational seminars with entertainment events spread over the entire time we are here.  The location is at Atlanta Motor Speedway and we are in one of the main parking areas right outside of the main straightaway of the speedway.  The only way in and out is via tram or bus that picks up Rallygoers at various locations around the Speedway and ferries them back and forth to the inside where all activities and displays are located.

Beverly and Sophie outside their rig, ours is behind red Jeep

View from Main Grandstand of some of the rigs and infield at Speedway

More of infield, main stage, VIPs seated on track in front of stage

Sunset from in front of our rig at Speedway

We are parked in a 'dry camping' spot that allows generator usage from 7 AM to 11 PM with the stipulation that you must have the exhaust vented above your coach to prevent carbon monoxide from entering someone's bedroom window when the generator is running.  Since David is so 'handy', we decided to 'manufacture' our own 'vent stack' instead of paying $100+ at Camping World for a store bought model.  So for about $40 at Lowe's we were able to satisfy the rules and move the generator exhaust to the sky instead of into our neighbors' rigs.

Manufacture of generator vent stacks

What we never figured out was why motorhomes with built-in generators had to have this exhausting method when travel trailers and fifth wheels that utilize free standing generators did not have to comply with the exhausting rules.  This created a serious problem for us when our closest neighbor in a fifth wheel rolled his 'cheap' (read did not cost anything) portable generator out beside our bedroom windows and cranked it up.  We nicknamed it the 'thresher' because it sounded as if it would shake itself completely apart every time it ran and was as loud as it could be.  So unlike our self contained units that have significant sound dampening to cut down on the decibel level.

Regardless of this small inconvenience, we had a marvelous time.  David and I really enjoyed our seminars with the RV Doctor and Geeks on Tour.  The ladies had a great time on their own looking at all the 'goodies' in the vendor booths and attending their own seminars.  We did share some info time together at some of the seminars when interests were aligned to the same subject matter.

Friday and Saturday night we were entertained by the Beach Boys and Vince Gill.  There were fireworks after the Vince Gill concert on Saturday night.  There was a big screen that allowed you to see the performances close up.  The pictures below is more what it looked like without viewing the big screen.

Beach Boys on Friday

Vince Gill on Saturday

Fireworks Display on Saturday Night

Now while at the Rally, David has visited with Camping World and they want him to bring his rig back to the Chattanooga facility so they can check it out and repair their repair.  We leave on Monday morning to make the short return trip. During the weekend, Beverly learns her mother is having some serious health issues so she heads home in the car from Chattanooga on Tuesday and we all follow later in the week after David's rig is repaired.  We arrive back in Longview tired but truly blessed with all the experiences.  David's rig is running fine once again and not in danger of overheating after a faulty part was replaced for the second time.  The following sunset happened in Atlanta and is an appropriate way to end our Yellowstone to Atlanta trip blog.  It is only one of God's magnificent displays he allowed us to see while traveling.

We are already discussing our next adventure and will be posting updates as we begin to finalize plans.